Passing the Time
by Nytel
Summary: Sometimes while on a mission, you just have to find a way to pass the time. JohnTeyla. No spoilers.


**Passing the Time**

Rodney grumbled under his breath as the team trudged from the gate of PLZ-458 to what seemed to be the middle of its immense jungle. Of course it wasn't the middle, not even close, but walking several kilometers in dense foliage, in hot, muggy, extremely uncomfortable weather didn't exactly make the trip seem short. And the worst part was that they were doing this just so Rodney could fix the mistake of some rookie, wannabe scientist who had failed to set up the protective covering of the naquada generator correctly.

The intense rains of the planet had shaken the improperly placed cover loose, and now the generator was soaked, something that was definitely not good, not to mention all the other expensive equipment that was irreparably damaged by the same thing. Rodney had no idea why the meteorologists were so interested in this planet—it just looked like a big disgusting jungle to him—but it didn't really matter. He was Atlantis' foremost expert on naquada generators, which was why he had been sent on this repair mission, like some common maintenance man; the thought made his blood boil.

Then there were other things that were certainly not helping his temper. Like how happy the rest of his team was. They were laughing and joking, even Ronon was talking animatedly, basically just having a good time. Well of course they were, all they had to do when they got there was wait for him to do all the work, like usual.

* * *

John flashed Teyla a winning smile as she recounted a story of her youth. Who knew that she'd been such a troublemaker? Well, John wasn't all that surprised, Teyla certainly had spirit, he had always known that. When the tale ended with her friend stuck in the river, completely nude, with the nearest clothes two miles away, both John and Ronon burst out laughing. 

"So he had to walk all the way back to the village without any clothes?" Ronon asked, struggling to keep a hold on his laughter.

Teyla smirked. "Yes. That is what happens when you cheat your friends."

John laughed again. "Remind me never to get on your bad side."

Teyla smiled at him, and John felt his stomach do something funky. In fact it'd been doing it a lot lately. Maybe he was coming down with the flu or something…

"Alright, we're here," Rodney stated in a tone that almost completely wiped out the good feeling in the air. "Finally," he added, mumbling under his breath.

John sighed and rolled his eyes. It wasn't worth getting into. Rodney was, well, Rodney. "So, uh, what do you want us to do?" John asked as he surveyed the small area full of technical equipment.

Rodney whirled around to glare at him. "I don't really care," he said acidly. "I'm going to be doing all of the work, like always, so just stay out of my way. Do you think you guys can manage that?"

John raised his eyebrows, and was about to respond to the extreme level of Rodney's attitude, when Teyla placed a calming hand on John's arm. "Of course Dr. McKay, we will make sure that you have your space."

That obviously hadn't been the response Rodney was expecting, because the angry look on his face faltered. "Oh, okay, right…" The rest of his sentence dropped off as he wandered over to the naquada generator and began pulling stuff out of his pack.

"What's his problem?" John whispered to Teyla as he turned to face her.

"I am not one hundred percent sure, but would you not be upset when your day off was interrupted so you could fix another person's mistake?"

"Well, sure, but I wouldn't be that…"

Teyla's raised eyebrow made him his change his words.

"Okay, I'd be pissed too," John admitted. "But he should really be used to it by now."

"Perhaps that is the problem, he is _too_ used to it."

The thought stuck with John. Leave it to Teyla to put a completely different spin on things, one that definitely made sense.

Ronon spoke, interrupting John's train of thought. "This is probably going to take a while, right?"

Simultaneously they all looked over at Rodney who had managed to almost completely disassemble the reactor and was now swearing at it viciously.

"Yeah," John replied. "I'd say so."

Ronon nodded. "I'm going to head out, check out the perimeter, keep guard."

It was Teyla who replied. "There are no people who occupy this planet Ronon, I believe that is unnecessary."

The Satedan shrugged as he readjusted the holster on his hips. "I know, but I can't just sit around here for hours and do nothing."

John nodded. "Alright, just make sure you stay in radio contact."

Ronon's response involved bounded up a nearby slope and disappearing into the surrounding trees. John hoped that meant 'okay'.

"So," John said as he turned back to Teyla. "What do you want to do, while we wait for…" He waved his hand in Rodney's general direction. "…that?"

"It does not matter," she replied honestly.

John smiled at her as he pulled off his pack and leaned it against a nearby tree, watching as Teyla did the same. "Well I was thinking that I could finally teach you how to play cards."

"You were?"

"Yeah. Remember when I was telling you about all the different games you could play with a single deck? Well I think your education of card games should begin now. It's as good as time as any." John reached into his pack and pulled out a standard deck of cards, waving them slightly in the air. "Huh, what do you say?"

Teyla grinned. "I would be happy to learn another one of your Earth games."

"Sweet." John found a convenient seat on a root of the nearest tree and took it. Surprisingly it was only slightly damp, which was certainly preferable to sitting on the soaking wet forest floor. He indicated with his foot that Teyla should take a seat on the other root only a few feet away. It was close, enough so that their knees were brushing against each other, but he certainly didn't mind.

John pulled the cards out of the pack and began to shuffle. "Okay, first thing's first. A deck has fifty-two cards, well, fifty-four if you count jokers. There are four different suits, and each suit has thirteen cards: an ace, cards two through ten, a jack, queen and a king." He finished shuffling the cards and glanced up at Teyla. "With me so far?"

Her forehead was burrowed in concentration and she was staring intently at the cards in his hand.

He chuckled. "Okay, apparently not. How about I go through it again, but slower?"

Teyla angled her gaze up to meet his. "Perhaps we should just play the game, and you can teach me as we go along."

He nodded. "Sure. What do you want to play?"

Teyla sighed and gave him a look of exasperation, making him laugh again.

"Right, sorry, I keep forgetting. Um, how about Crazy Eights? That's always been my favorite one."

"That sounds like fun, John," she replied with a smile.

John's stomach did that funny thing again, but he ignored it and dealt the cards. The played slowly so that he could explain everything to Teyla as they went. It wasn't as hard as he'd originally suspected, in fact, Teyla was probably learning quicker than he had learned to play the game. He just wouldn't mention that part to her…

* * *

Rodney was so close to being done that he could taste it. All he needed to do was just reconnect one last wire… He reached to plug it into the last available slot on the generator, only to find that the space was so small he couldn't fit his fingers in. He let out a curse under his breath and tried again, apparently hoping that his fingers had managed to shrink in the last microsecond or so. Turns out they hadn't, which resulted in another profanity escaping his lips. 

Taking a better look at the generator, he saw that he would be able to plug it in, but only if he unplugged several of the other wires from the main circuit board. But seeing as these damn things were so intricately made, that would mean basically undoing everything he'd just accomplished and starting from scratch. Rodney was pretty sure that this was the first time he'd ever felt anything resembling dislike for Dr. Samantha Carter, but her fingers were just too skinny. Only a woman would be able to…

"Teyla!" Rodney called out, not looking away from his project. "I need you over here." He scanned the generator over again, double checking for any mistakes while he waited for Teyla, though the chances of there even being any were extremely minimal.

After this was done they need only install the protective covering properly, which he would make Sheppard and Ronon do since it involved climbing up tree trunks, and then they could pack up and leave. Rodney tried to not focus on the long walk back, but instead on the amazing meal he would eat when they got back. It was pasta night in the cafeteria, and there was nothing he liked better than a nice healthy serving of lasagna, or perhaps macaroni.

Thinking about supper was making him hungry though, so he tried to stop. Then he realized that Teyla wasn't there yet. She was only a few meters away, why wouldn't she be there yet.

Turning around, Rodney saw why. She was playing cards with Sheppard, and judging by the smile on her face and the faked sadness on his, she was winning. "Teyla," he called again, but she didn't seem to hear him. She'd just played her last card and was grinning a victorious smile. John was smiling back at her, looking like a complete idiot. Their knees were brushing against each other and their gazes locked. John even had his hand on Teyla's leg, apparently patting it in congratulations, though it looked more like some kind of caress.

Rodney sighed in frustration, unable to believe them. The one moment he needed their help and they were trying to jump each other. The things he had to put up with… "Hey!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

The instant they heard his voice, both their heads whipped to look at him. John pulled away from Teyla and stood up, shoving his hands into his pockets and trying to look innocent. "What, Rodney?"

"Would the two of you stop flirting for two minutes and come over here and help me?!"

* * *

They were done. Finally, after hours of tinkering and running tests, they were done. Well, he was done, Rodney thought more accurately. Though he supposed Teyla had plugged in one wire and John and Ronon had climbed some very large trees, so it might technically count as a team effort. However, specifics didn't matter. They were done, and were finally headed back to the gate. Rodney's feet ached and his back hurt, but even the misery of that was overshadowed by his happiness to be on his way home. He even found himself smiling along with the rest of them when Ronon told a joke. 

They talked while they walked, telling stories, remembering events of their youth, gossiping about certain expedition members, basically doing anything they could to pass the time. During a brief lull in the conversation, Teyla spoke up.

"Dr. McKay, may I ask you a question?"

He was surprised, but tried not to show it. "Sure."

"When you called us over to help you earlier, what…" She paused for a moment, seemingly trying to find the right way to word it. "What is flirting?"

Rodney's jaw dropped open in shock from the innocence of her question, Ronon let out a guffaw and John turned bright red.

She looked around between all three of them. "What did I say?"

The End


End file.
